We must put an end to the human and financial costs of PFI projects

摘要

It is time nursing woke up to the threat posed by the Private Finance Initiative and the damaging effects of using private capital to fund major NHS projects. The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is a crucial issue for nurses, partly because of its potential effects on their employment, the exercise of their skills, their career progression, pay and morale, and also because of its effect on patient care. We need look no further than what is happening at Barts Health NHS Trust, the UK's most expensive NHS PFI project. While the original capital cost was ￡1.1 billion, rebuilding work will have cost ￡7.1 billion by the time repayments have ended in 2048-49. Significantly, the costs of servicing PFI debt have to be met from a trust's operating budget - the budget that normally pays for patient care, staff and supplies. So while PFI makes huge profits for investors, it is one of the main reasons for staff lay-offs, reductions in hospital beds and hospital closures.